“The last time I saw Marie she was waving me goodbye / With hurry home drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye / Marie is only six years old, information please / Try to put me through to her in Memphis, Tennessee”
I’d been hearing the song “Memphis, Tennessee” by Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and others for decades without ever realizing what Berry, the song’s author, was talking about. It’s actually a divorced dad song about a father’s severed relationship with his 6-year-old girl, Marie. Ned Holstein of Fathers & Families pointed it out to me the other day, and I felt stupid for not having realized it before.
The lyrics to the song are below, along with a video of Chuck Berry performing it. If you prefer Elvis, you can hear that by clicking here.
We’ll add it to our list of divorced dad songs which includes: Craig Morgan’s Every Friday Afternoon, Trace Adkins’ I’m Tryin’, Doug Supernaw’s I Don’t Call Him Daddy, Toby Keith’s Who’s That Man?, Tim McGraw’s Do You Want Fries With That?, and Sting’s I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying, which was also later recorded by Toby Keith.
Memphis, Tennessee
(Words & Music by Chuck Berry)
Long distance information give me Memphis, Tennessee
Help me find the party trying to get in touch with me
She could not leave her number but I know who placed the call
My uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall
Help me information to get in touch with my Marie
She’s the only one who’d phone me here from Memphis, Tennessee
Her home is on the Southside, high upon a ridge
Just a half a mile from the Mississippi bridge
Help me information more than that I cannot add
Only that I miss her and all the fun we had
But we were pulled apart because her mom did not agree
Tore apart our happy home in Memphis, Tennessee
The last time I saw Marie she was waving me goodbye
With hurry home drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye
Marie is only six years old, information please
Try to put me through to her in Memphis, Tennessee
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